While the First-Year Seminar Program, a primer for liberal arts writing composed of small classes, is described as “a singular opportunity for learning,” few students are still sincerely attached to their first-year seminar experience by the end of their college career. Not so for alumni of Nathan A. Greenberg Professor of Classics and Acting Chair of Comparative Literature Kirk Ormand’s first year seminar, “Odysseys and Identities.” The ‘Odysseans,’ as they’re dubbed, have had semesterly...

College towns seem to be dumping grounds for folks looking to get rid of their pets — whether because of turnover in students and staff, or because such communities often come together to care for animals. Oberlin has its own share of feline friends, sometimes seen on campus in colonies or dashing down the street. As the weather grows colder, seeing these cats outside can seem grim. Concerned citizens can be comforted, though, by the knowledge that Oberlin’s feline inhabitants have an extensive...

College third-year Lucy Kaminsky has an entry in her Notes app that looks like it is miles long, each new section marked with a simple N* and then a number. N*17 marks her current project, yet to hit the inboxes of her over 100 subscribers.  Kaminsky’s kept up an email newsletter since starting college. It was her response to the social and locational upheaval of that moment, and she has used this newsletter since to keep in touch with family and friends, sharing her life across distances great and small. Her high school guidance counselor, a mother she babysits for, and her orthodontist are just a few of the more unexpected contacts on her Listserv.  This note marks not only the evolution of the content shared — bundles of articles and i...

 Oberlin College is so distinctive from Northeast Ohio that driving just 10 minutes away can feel like entering another world. An oddball-liberal college in a state that voted red in 2016, Oberlin is uniquely positioned. For students who come from conservative areas in Ohio, the transition to Oberlin College culture can be a disorienting experience, despite their hometown’s geographical proximity.  “It’s so crazy how different it is,” said Paige Monyak, a second-year College student from Elyria. “When people say it’s like a bubble here, it’s like an actual bubble. … Right when you pass the [Allen Memorial] Art Museum [and step] on campus, it’s just completely different.”  College fourth-year S...